PUNDIT ISWAR CHANDRA VIDYASAGAR was born in the
village of Beersingh,
not far from Kamarpukur, Sri Ramakrishna's birth-place. He was
known as a great scholar, educator, writer, and philanthropist. One of
the creators of modern Bengali, he was also well versed in Sanskrit grammar
and poetry. His generosity made his name a household word with his countrymen,
most of his income being given in charity to widows, orphans, indigent
students, and other needy people. Nor was his compassion limited to
human beings: he stopped drinking milk for years so that the calves should
not be deprived of it, and he would not drive in a carriage for fear of causing
discomfort to the horses. He was a man of indomitable spirit, which he
showed when he gave up the lucrative position of principal of the Sanskrit
College of Calcutta because of a disagreement with the authorities. His
affection for his mother was especially deep. One day, in the absence of a
ferry-boat, he swam a raging river at the risk of his life to
fulfil her wish that he
should be present at his brother's wedding. His whole life was one of utter
simplicity. The title Vidyasagar, meaning "Ocean of Learning", was given
him in recognition of his vast erudition.

Sri Ramakrishna had long wanted to visit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar.
Learning from M. that he was a teacher at Vidyasagar's school, the Master
asked: "Can you take me to Vidyasagar? I should like very much to see
him." M. told Iswar Chandra of Sri Ramakrishna's wish, and the pundit
gladly agreed that M. should bring the Master, some Saturday afternoon
at four o'clock. He only asked M. what kind of paramahamsa the Master
was, saying, "Does he wear an ochre cloth?" M. answered: "No, sir. He is
an unusual person. He wears a red-bordered cloth and polished slippers.
He lives in a room in Rani Rasmani's temple garden. In his room there is
a couch with a mattress and mosquito net. He has no outer indication of
holiness. But he doesn't know anything except God. Day and night he
thinks of God alone."

On the afternoon of August 5 the Master left Dakshineswar in a hackney
carriage, accompanied by Bhavanath, M., and Hazra. Vidyasagar lived in
Badurbagan, in central Calcutta, about six miles from Dakshineswar. On
the way Sri Ramakrishna talked with his companions; but as the carriage
neared Vidyasagar's house his mood suddenly changed. He was overpowered
with divine ecstasy. Not noticing this, M. pointed out the garden house
where Raja Rammohan Roy had lived. The Master was annoyed and said,
"I don't care about such things now. He was going into an ecstatic state.

The carriage stopped in front of Vidyasagar's house. The Master alighted,
supported by M., who then led the way. In the courtyard were many flowering
plants. As the Master walked to the house he said to M., like a
child, pointing to his shirt-button: "My shirt is unbuttoned. Will that offend
Vidyasagar?" "Oh, no!" said M. "Don't be anxious about it. Nothing about
you will be offensive. You don't have to button your shirt." He accepted the
assurance simply, like a child.

Vidyasagar was about sixty-two years old, sixteen or seventeen years older
than the Master. He lived in a two-storey house built in the English fashion,
with lawns on all sides and surrounded by a high wall. After climbing the
stairs to the second floor, Sri Ramakrishna and his devotees entered a room
at the far end of which Vidyasagar was seated facing them, with a table in
front of him. To the right of the table was a bench. Some friends of their
host occupied chairs on the other two sides.

Vidyasagar rose to receive the Master. Sri Ramakrishna stood in front of
the bench, with one hand resting on the table. He gazed at Vidyasagar, as
if they had known each other before, and smiled in an ecstatic mood. In
that mood he remained standing a few minutes. Now and then, to bring
his mind back to normal consciousness, he said, "I shall have a drink of
water."

In the mean time the young members of the household and a few friends
and relatives of Vidyasagar had gathered around. Sri Ramakrishna, still in
an ecstatic mood, sat on the bench. A young man, seventeen or eighteen
years old, who had come to Vidyasagar to seek financial help for his education,
was seated there. The Master sat down at a little distance from the
boy, saying in an abstracted mood: "Mother, this boy is very much attached
to the world. He belongs to Thy realm of ignorance."

Vidyasagar told someone to bring water and asked M. whether the Master
would like some sweetmeats also. Since M. did not object, Vidyasagar himself
went eagerly to the inner apartments and brought the sweets. They were
placed before the Master. Bhavanath and Hazra also received their share.
When they were offered to M., Vidyasagar said: "Oh, he is like one of the
family. We needn't worry about him." Referring to a young devotee, the
Master said to Vidyasagar: "He is a nice young man and is sound at the core.
He is like the river Phalgu. The surface is covered with sand; but if you dig
a little you will find water flowing underneath."

After taking some of the sweets, the Master, with a smile, began to speak
to Vidyasagar. Meanwhile the room had become filled with people; some
were standing and others were seated.

MASTER: "Ah! Today,
at last, I have come to the ocean. Up till now I
have seen only canals, marshes, or a river at the most. But today I am face
to face with the sagar, the ocean." (A1l laugh.)

VIDYASAGAR (smiling): "Then please
take home some salt water." (Laughter.)

MASTER: "Oh, no! Why salt water? You aren't
the ocean of ignorance.
You are the ocean of vidya, knowledge. You are the ocean of condensed milk."
(All laugh.)

VIDYASAGAR: "Well, you may put it that way.

The pundit became silent. Sri Ramakrishna said: "Your activities are
inspired by sattva. Though they are rajasic, they are influenced by sattva.
Compassion springs from sattva. Though work for the good of others belongs
to rajas, yet this rajas has sattva for its basis and is not harmful. Suka
and other sages cherished compassion in their minds to give people religious
instruction, to teach them about God. You are distributing food and learning.
That is good too. If these activities are done in a selfless spirit they lead
to God. But most people work for fame or to acquire merit. Their activities
are not selfless. Besides, you are already a siddha."
(Literally, "perfect" or "boiled"; the word is applied both to the
perfected soul and to boiled things.)

VIDYASAGAR: "How is that, sir?"

MASTER (laughing): "When potatoes
and other vegetables are well
cooked, they become soft and tender. And you possess such a tender nature!
You are so compassionate!" (Laughter.)

VIDYASAGAR (laughing): "But when
the paste of kalai pulse is boiled it becomes all the harder."

MASTER: "But you don't belong to that
class. Mere pundits are like diseased
fruit that becomes hard and will not ripen at all. Such fruit has neither
the freshness of green fruit nor the flavour of ripe. Vultures soar very high
in the sky, but their eyes are fixed on rotten carrion on the ground. The
book-learned are reputed to be wise, but they are attached to 'woman and
gold'. Like the vultures, they are in search of carrion. They are attached
to the world of ignorance. Compassion, love of God, and renunciation are
the glories of true knowledge."

Vidyasagar listened to these words in silence. The others, too, gazed at
the Master and were attentive to every word he said.

Vidyasagar was very reticent about giving religious instruction to others.
He had studied Hindu philosophy. Once, when M. had asked him his
opinion of it, Vidyasagar had said, "I think the philosophers have failed to
explain what was in their minds." But in his daily life he followed all the
rituals of Hindu religion and wore the sacred thread of a brahmin. About God
he had once declared: "It is indeed impossible to know Him. What, then,
should be our duty? It seems to me that we should live in such a way that,
if others followed our example, this very earth would be heaven. Everyone
should try to do good to the world."

Sri Ramakrishna's conversation now turned to the Knowledge of Brahman.

MASTER: "Brahman is beyond vidya
and avidya, knowledge and ignorance.
It is beyond maya, the illusion of duality.

"The world consists of the illusory duality of knowledge and ignorance.
It contains knowledge and devotion, and also attachment to 'woman and
gold; righteousness and unrighteousness; good and evil. But Brahman is
unattached to these. Good and evil apply to the jiva, the individual soul, as
do righteousness and unrighteousness; but Brahman is not at all affected
by them.

"One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another
may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected. The
sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.

"You may ask, 'How, then, can one explain misery and sin and unhappiness?'
The answer is that these apply only to the jiva. Brahman is unaffected
by them. There is poison in a snake; but though others may die if bitten by
it, the snake itself is not affected by the poison.

"What Brahman is cannot be described. All things in the world — the
Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras, the six systems of philosophy — have been
defiled, like food that has been touched by the tongue, for they have been
read or uttered by the tongue. Only one thing has not been defiled in this
way, and that is Brahman. No one has ever been able to say what Brahman
is."

VIDYASAGAR (to his friends):
"Oh! That is a remarkable statement. I
have learnt something new today."

MASTER: "A man had two sons. The father
sent them to a preceptor to
learn the Knowledge of Brahman. After a few years they returned from
their preceptor's house and bowed low before their father. Wanting to
measure the depth of their knowledge of Brahman, he first questioned the
older of the two boys. 'My child,' he said, 'you have studied all the
scriptures. Now tell me, what is the nature of Brahman?' The boy began to
explain Brahman by reciting various texts from the Vedas. The father did
not say anything. Then he asked the younger son the same question. But the
boy remained silent and stood with eyes cast down. No word escaped his
lips. The father was pleased and said to him: 'My child, you have understood
a little of Brahman. What It is cannot be expressed in words.'

"Men often think they have understood Brahman fully. Once an ant
went to a hill of sugar. One grain filled its stomach. Taking another grain
in its mouth it started homeward. On its way it thought, 'Next time I shall
carry home the whole hill.' That is the way shallow minds think. They
don't know that Brahman is beyond one's words and thought. However
great a man may be, how much can he know of Brahman? Sukadeva
and sages like him may have been big ants; but even they could carry at the
utmost eight or ten grains of sugar!

"As for what has been said in the Vedas and the Puranas, do you know
what it is like? Suppose a man has seen the ocean, and somebody asks him,
'Well, what is the ocean like?' The first man opens his mouth as wide as
he can and says: 'What a sight! What tremendous waves and sounds!' The
description of Brahman in the sacred books is like that. It is said in the
Vedas that Brahman is of the nature of Bliss — It is Satchidananda.

"Suka and other sages stood on the shore of this Ocean of Brahman and
saw and touched the water. According to one school of thought they never
plunged into it. Those who do, cannot come back to the world again.

"In samadhi one attains the Knowledge of Brahman — one realizes Brahman
In that state reasoning stops altogether, and man becomes mute. He
has no power to describe the nature of Brahman.

"Once a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. (All laugh)
It wanted to tell others how deep the water was. But this it could never do,
for no sooner did it get into the water than it melted. Now who was there
to report the ocean's depth?"

A DEVOTEE: "Suppose a man has obtained
the Knowledge of Brahman in samadhi. Doesn't he speak any more?"

MASTER: "Sankaracharya
(One of the greatest philosophers of India.)
retained the 'ego of Knowledge' in order to
teach others. After the vision of Brahman a man becomes silent. He reasons
about It as long as he has not realized It. If you heat butter in a pan on the
stove, it makes a sizzling sound as long as the water it contains has not
dried up. But when no trace of water is left the clarified butter makes no
sound. If you put an uncooked cake of flour in that butter it sizzles again.
But after the cake is cooked all sound stops. Just so, a man established in
samadhi comes down to the relative plane of consciousness in order to teach
others, and then he talks about God.

"The bee buzzes as long as it is not sitting on a flower. It becomes silent
when it begins to sip the honey. But sometimes, intoxicated with the honey,
it buzzes again.

"An empty pitcher makes a gurgling sound when it is dipped in water.
When it fills up it becomes silent. (All laugh.) But if the water is poured
from it into another pitcher, then you will hear the sound
again. (Laughter.)

"The rishis of old attained the Knowledge of Brahman. One cannot have
this so long as there is the slightest trace of worldliness. How hard the rishis
laboured! Early in the morning they would go away from the hermitage,
and would spend the whole day in solitude, meditating on Brahman. At
night they would return to the hermitage and eat a little fruit or roots.
They kept their minds aloof from the objects of sight, hearing, touch, and
other things of a worldly nature. Only thus did they realize Brahman as their
own inner consciousness.

"But in the Kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life,
cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body. In this state of mind
it is not proper for him to say, 'I am He.' When a man does all sorts of
worldly things, he should not say, 'I am Brahman.' Those who cannot give
up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the
feeling of 'I', should rather cherish the idea, 'I am God's servant; I am His
devotee.' One can also realize God by following the path of devotion.

"The jnani gives up his identification with worldly things, discriminating,
'Not this, not this'. Only then can he realize Brahman. It is like reaching
the roof of a house by leaving the steps behind, one by one. But the vijnani,
who is more intimately acquainted with Brahman, realizes something more.
He realizes that the steps are made of the same materials as the roof: bricks,
lime, and brick-dust. That which is realized intuitively as Brahman, through
the eliminating process of 'Not this, not this', is then found to have become
the universe and all its living beings, The vijnani sees that the Reality
which is nirguna, without attributes, is also saguna, with attributes.

"A man cannot live on the roof a long time. He comes down again. Those
who realize Brahman in samadhi come down also and find that it is Brahman
that has become the universe and its living beings. In the musical scale there
are the notes sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, and ni; but one cannot keep one's voice
on 'ni' a long time. The ego does not vanish altogether. The man coming
down from samadhi perceives that it is Brahman that has become the ego,
the universe, and all living beings. This is known as vijnana.

"The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines
knowledge and love. The path of love, too, leads to this goal. The way of
love is as true as the way of knowledge. All paths ultimately lead to the
same Truth. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier
to follow the path of love.

"The vijnani sees that Brahman is immovable and actionless, like Mount
Sumeru. This universe consists of the three gunas — sattva, rajas, and tamas.
They are in Brahman. But Brahman is unattached.

"The vijnani further sees that what is Brahman is the Bhagavan, the
Personal God. He who is beyond the three gunas is the Bhagavan, with
His six supernatural powers. Living beings, the universe, mind, intelligence,
love, renunciation, knowledge — all these are the manifestations of His power.
(With a laugh) If an aristocrat has neither house nor property, or
if he has
been forced to sell them, one doesn't call him an aristocrat any more. (All
laugh.) God is endowed with the six supernatural powers. If He were not,
who would obey Him? (All laugh.)

"Just see how picturesque this universe is! How many things there are!
The sun, moon, and stars; and how many varieties of living beings! — big
and small, good and bad, strong and weak — some endowed with more power,
some with less."

VIDYASAGAR: "Has He endowed some
with more power and others with less?"

MASTER: "As the All-pervading Spirit
He exists in all beings, even in the
ant. But the manifestations of His Power are different in different beings;
otherwise, how can one person put ten to flight, while another can't face
even one? And why do all people respect you? Have you grown a pair of
horns? (Laughter.) You have more compassion and learning. Therefore
people honour you and come to pay you their respects. Don't you agree
with me?"

Vidyasagar smiled.

The Master continued: "There is nothing in mere scholarship. The
object of study is to find means of knowing God and realizing Him. A holy
man had a book. When asked what it contained, he opened it and showed
that on all the pages were written the words 'Om Rama', and nothing else.

"What is the significance of the Gita? It is what you find by repeating the
word ten times. It is then reversed into 'tagi', which means a person who has
renounced everything for God. And the lesson of the Gita is: 'O man,
renounce everything and seek God alone.' Whether a man is a monk or a
householder, he has to shake off all attachment from his mind.

"Chaitanyadeva set out on a pilgrimage to southern India. One day he
saw a man reading the Gita. Another man, seated at a distance, was listening
and weeping. His eyes were swimming in tears. Chaitanyadeva asked him,
'Do you understand all this?' The man said, 'No, revered sir, I don't
understand a word of the text.' 'Then why are you crying?' asked Chaitanya.
The devotee said: 'I see Arjuna's chariot before me. I see Lord Krishna and
Arjuna seated in front of it, talking. I see this and I weep.'

"Why does a vijnani keep an attitude of love toward God? The answer
is that 'I-consciousness' persists. It disappears in the state of samadhi, no
doubt, but it comes back. In the case of ordinary people the 'I' never
disappears. You may cut down the aswattha tree, but the next day sprouts shoot
up. (All laugh.)
"Even after the attainment of Knowledge this 'I-consciousness' comes up,
nobody knows from where. You dream of a tiger. Then you awake; but your
heart keeps on palpitating! All our suffering is due to this 'I'. The cow cries,
'Hamba!', which means 'I'. That is why it suffers so much. It is yoked to the
plough and made to work in rain and sun. Then it may be killed by the
butcher. From its hide shoes are made, and also drums, which are mercilessly
beaten. (Laughter.) Still it does not escape suffering. At last strings are
made out of its entrails tor the bows used in carding cotton. Then it no
longer says, 'Hamba! Hamba!', 'I! I!', but Tuhu! Tuhu!', Thou! Thou!'
Only then are its troubles over. O Lord, I am the servant; Thou art the
Master. I am the child; Thou art the Mother.

"Once Rama asked Hanuman, 'How do you look on Me?' And Hanuman
replied: 'O Rama, as long as I have the feeling of "I", I see that Thou art
the whole and I am a part; Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant. But
when, O Rama, I have the knowledge of Truth, then I realize that Thou
art I, and I am Thou.'

"The relationship of master and servant is the proper one. Since this 'I'
must remain, let the rascal be God's servant.

"'I' and 'mine' — these constitute ignorance. 'My house', 'my wealth', 'my
learning', 'my possessions' — the attitude that prompts one to say such things
comes of ignorance. On the contrary, the attitude born of Knowledge is: 'O
God, Thou art the Master, and all these things belong to Thee. House,
family, children, attendants, friends, are Thine.'

"One should constantly remember death. Nothing will survive death. We
are born into this world to perform certain duties, like the people who come
from the countryside to Calcutta on business. If a visitor goes to a rich
man's garden, the superintendent says to him, 'This is our garden', This is
our lake', and so forth. But if the superintendent is dismissed for some misdeed
deed, he can't carry away even his mango-wood chest. He sends it secretly
by the gate-keeper. (Laughter.)

"God laughs on two occasions. He laughs when the physician says to the
patient's mother, 'Don't be afraid, mother; I shall certainly cure your boy.'
God laughs, saying to Himself, 'I am going to take his life, and this man
says he will save it!' The physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that
God is the Master. God laughs again when two brothers divide their land
with a string, saying to each other, 'This side is mine and that side is yours.'
He laughs and says to Himself, The whole universe belongs to Me, but
they say they own this portion or that portion.'

"Can one know God through reasoning? Be His servant, surrender yourself
self to Him, and then pray to Him.

(To Vidyasagar, with a smile) "Well, what is your attitude?"

VIDYASAGAR (smiling): "Some day I shall
confide it to you." (All laugh.)

Who is there that can understand what Mother Kali is?
Even the six darsanas are powerless to reveal Her.
It is She, the scriptures say, that is the Inner Self
Of the yogi, who in Self discovers all his joy;
She that, of Her own sweet will, inhabits every living thing.

The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the Mother's womb;
Now do you see how vast it is? In the Muladhara
The yogi meditates on Her, and in the Sahasrara:
Who but Siva has beheld Her as She really is?
Within the lotus wilderness She sports beside Her Mate, the
Swan. (Siva the Absolute)

When man aspires to understand Her, Ramprasad must smile;
To think of knowing Her, he says, is quite as laughable
As to imagine one can swim across the boundless sea.
But while my mind has understood, alas! my heart has not;
Though but a dwarf, it still would strive to make a captive of the moon.

Continuing, the Master said: "Did you notice?

The macrocosm and microcosm rest in the Mother's womb;
Now do you see how vast it is?

"Again, the poet says:

Even the six darsanas are powerless to reveal Her.

She cannot be realized by means of mere scholarship.

"One must have faith and love. Let me tell you how powerful faith is. A
man was about to cross the sea from Ceylon to India. Bibhishana said to
him: 'Tie this thing in a corner of your wearing-cloth, and you will cross
the sea safely. You will be able to walk on the water. But be sure not to
examine it, or you will sink.' The man was walking easily on the water of
the sea — such is the strength of faith — when, having gone part of the way,
he thought, 'What is this wonderful thing Bibhishana has given me, that I
can walk even on the water?' He untied the knot and found only a leaf
with the name of Rama written on it. 'Oh, just this!' he thought, and
instantly he sank.

"There is a popular saying that Hanuman jumped over the sea through
his faith in Rama's name, but Rama Himself had to build a bridge.

"If a man has faith in God, then he need not be afraid though he may
have committed sin — nay, the vilest sin."

Then Sri Ramakrishna sang a song glorifying the power of faith:

If only I can pass away repeating Durga's name,
How canst Thou then, O Blessed One,
Withhold from me deliverance,
Wretched though I may be? . . .

The Master continued: "Faith and devotion. One realizes God easily
through devotion. He is grasped through ecstasy of love."

With these words the Master sang again:

How are you trying, O my mind, to know the nature of God?
You are groping like a madman locked in a dark room.
He is grasped through ecstatic love; how can you fathom Him without it?
Only through affirmation, never negation, can you know Him;
Neither through Veda nor through Tantra nor the six darsanas.

It is in love's elixir only that He delights, O mind;
He dwells in the body's inmost depths, in Everlasting Joy.
And, for that love, the mighty yogis practise yoga from age to age;
When love awakes, the Lord, like a magnet, draws to Him the soul.
He it is, says Ramprasad, that I approach as Mother;
But must I give away the secret, here in the market-place?
From the hints I have given, O mind, guess what that Being is!

While singing, the Master went into samadhi. He was seated on the
bench, facing west, the palms of his hands joined together, his body erect
and motionless. Everyone watched him expectantly. Vidyasagar, too, was.
speechless and could not take his eyes from the Master.

After a time Sri Ramakrishna showed signs of regaining the normal state.
He drew a deep breath and said with a smile: "The means of realizing God
are ecstasy of love and devotion — that is, one must love God. He who is
Brahman is addressed as the Mother,

He it is, says Ramprasad, that I approach as Mother;
But must I give away the secret, here in the market-place?
From the hints I have given, O mind, guess what that Being is!

"Ramprasad asks the mind only to guess the nature of God. He wishes it
to understand that what is called Brahman in the Vedas is addressed by him
as the Mother. He who is attributeless also has attributes. He who is Brahman
man is also Sakti. When thought of as inactive, He is called Brahman, and
when thought of as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, He is called the
Primordial Energy, Kali.

"Brahman and Sakti are identical, like fire and its power to burn. When
we talk of fire we automatically mean also its power to burn. Again, the
fire's power to burn implies the fire itself. If you accept the one you must
accept the other.

"Brahman alone is addressed as the Mother. This is because a mother is
an object of great love. One is able to realize God just through love. Ecstasy
of feeling, devotion, love, and faith — these are the means. Listen to a song:

As is a marl's meditation, so is his feeling of love;
As is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain;
And faith is the root of all.
If in the Nectar Lake of Mother Kali's feet
My mind remains immersed,
Of little use are worship, oblations, or sacrifice.

"What is needed is absorption in God — loving Him intensely. The 'Nectar
Lake' is the Lake of Immortality. A man sinking in It does not die, but
becomes immortal. Some people believe that by thinking of God too much
the mind becomes deranged; but that is not true. God is the Lake of Nectar,
the Ocean of Immortality. He is called the 'Immortal' in the Vedas. Sinking
in It, one does not die, but verily transcends death.

Of little use are worship, oblations, or sacrifice.

If a man comes to love God, he need not trouble himself much about these
activities. One needs a fan only as long as there is no breeze. The fan may
be laid aside if the southern breeze blows. Then what need is there of a fan?

(To Vidyasagar) "The activities that you are engaged in are good. It is
very good if you can perform them in a selfless spirit, renouncing egotism,
giving up the idea that you are the doer. Through such action one develops
love and devotion to God, and ultimately realizes Him.

"The more you come to love God, the less you will be inclined to perform
action. When the daughter-in-law is with child, her mother-in-law gives her
less work to do. As time goes by she is given less and less work. When the
time of delivery nears, she is not allowed to do any work at all, lest it should
hurt the child or cause difficulty at the time of birth.

"By these philanthropic activities you are really doing good to yourself.
If you can do them disinterestedly, your mind will become pure and you
will develop love of God. As soon as you have that love you will realize Him.

"Man cannot really help the world. God alone does that — He who has
created the sun and the moon, who has put love for their children in parents'
hearts, endowed noble souls with compassion, and holy men and devotees
with divine love. The man who works for others, without any selfish motive,
really does good to himself.

"There is gold buried in your heart, but you are not yet aware of it. It is
covered with a thin layer of clay. Once you are aware of it, all these activities
of yours will lessen. After the birth of her child, the daughter-in-law in the
family busies herself with it alone. Everything she does is only for the
child. Her mother-in-law doesn't let her do any household duties.

"Go forward. A wood-cutter once entered a forest to gather wood. A
brahmachari said to him, 'Go forward.' He obeyed the injunction and
discovered some sandal-wood trees. After a few days he reflected, 'The holy
man asked me to go forward. He didn't tell me to stop here.' So he went
forward and found a silver-mine. After a few days he went still farther and
discovered a gold-mine, and next, mines of diamonds and precious stones.
With these he became immensely rich.

"Through selfless work, love of God grows in the heart. Then, through
His grace, one realizes Him in course of time. God can be seen. One can
talk to Him as I am talking to you."

In silent wonder they all sat listening to the Master's words. It seemed
to them that the Goddess of Wisdom Herself, seated on Sri Ramakrishna's
tongue, was addressing these words not merely to Vidyasagar, but to all
humanity for its good.

It was nearly nine o'clock in the evening. The Master was about to leave.

MASTER (to Vidyasagar, with a smile):
"The words I have spoken are
really superfluous. You know all this; you simply aren't conscious of it. There
are countless gems in the coffers of Varuna. But he himself isn't aware of
them."

VIDYASAGAR (with a smile): "You may
say as you like."

MASTER (smiling): "Oh, yes. There
are many wealthy people who don't
know the names of all their servants, and are even unaware of many of the
precious things in their houses." (All laugh.)

Everybody was delighted with the Master's conversation. Again addressing
Vidyasagar, he said with a smile: "Please visit the temple garden some
time — I mean the garden of Rasmani. It's a charming place."

VIDYASAGAR: "Oh, of course I shall go.
You have so kindly come here to
see me, and shall I not return your visit?"

MASTER: "Visit me? Oh, never think of such
a thing!"

VIDYASAGAR: "Why, sir? Why do you say
that? May I ask you to explain?"

MASTER (smiling): "You see,
we are like small fishing-boats. (All smile.)
We can ply in small canals and shallow waters and also in big rivers. But
you are a ship. You may run aground on the way!" (All laugh.)

Vidyasagar remained silent. Sri Ramakrishna said with a laugh, "But
even a ship can go there at this season."

VIDYASAGAR (smiling): "Yes, this
is the monsoon season." (All laugh.)

M. said to himself: "This is indeed the monsoon season of newly awakened
love. At such times one doesn't care for prestige or formalities."

Sri Ramakrishna then took leave of Vidyasagar, who with his friends
escorted the Master to the main gate, leading the way with a lighted candle
in his hand. Before leaving the room, the Master prayed for the family's
welfare, going into an ecstatic mood as he did so.

As soon as the Master and the devotees reached the gate, they saw an
unexpected sight and stood still. In front of them was a bearded gentleman
of fair complexion, aged about thirty-six. He wore his clothes like a Bengali,
but on his head was a white turban tied after the fashion of the Sikhs. No
sooner did he see the Master than he fell prostrate before him, turban
and all.

When he stood up the Master said: "Who is this? Balaram? Why so
late in the evening?"

BALARAM: "I have been waiting
here a long time, sir."

MASTER: "Why didn't you come in?"

BALARAM: "All were listening to you.
I didn't like to disturb you."

The Master got into the carriage with his companions.

VIDYASAGAR (to M., softly): "Shall
I pay the carriage hire?"

M: "Oh, don't bother, please. It is taken care of."

Vidyasagar and his friends bowed to Sri Ramakrishna, and the carriage
started for Dakshineswar. But the little group, with the venerable Vidyasagar
at their head holding the lighted candle, stood at the gate and gazed after
the Master until he was out of sight.